Sensex, Rupee and Oil rise

Foreign fund managers, extremely bullish on the Indian economy and the frontline companies ahead of fourth quarter results, are pushing the BSE sensex closer to the 18K mark again. As the FIIs pumped in Rs 766 crore into stocks, the sensex gained 243 points to close at 17,936, a 25-month closing high. The related dollar inflows from these fund managers are in turn strengthening the Indian rupee against the greenback. So far this year, foreign funds have pumped in over $4.8 billion into stocks, helping the rupee to appreciate by nearly 4.5% to above the 44.50 mark. On Monday, the rupee closed at 44.45 to the dollar, a 19-month high and stronger by over 1% from Wednesday’s close at 44.89. However, a section of the market players is concerned about the rising crude oil prices, which went above the $85 per barrel mark again to $86.73, an 18-month high. The rise in crude price came on the back of strong economy-related data in the US, which also pushed the Dow Jones Index closer to the 11K mark in early trade on Monday.